HindustanTimes.com Thursday, August 01, 2002
Russia holds biggest post-Soviet military exercises in Caspian Agence France-Presse Moscow, August 01 Russia on Thursday launched large-scale military exercises in the Caspian Sea which will involve more than 60 warships and 10,000 men, the biggest presence in the area since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The two-week exercises, seen as an attempt by Russia to flex its muscles in the disputed oil-rich region, are divided into two stages: purely theoretical until August 7 and then war games until August 15 involving air, sea and land forces. Some 30 planes and helicopters will also take part in the exercises, which will involve all branches of the Russian military, including 4,000 sailors from the Caspian Fleet. Russian navy commander Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov denied that Russia was demonstrating its military strength but he signalled that Moscow wanted to show it can protect its interests. "By planning exercises of the Caspian Fleet we are not trying to demonstrate our strength. But Russia has a strong military potential for tackling its tasks in the Caspian Sea should peaceful means fail," he told the Interfax news agency. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the war games in April a day after a summit of heads of state from the five Caspian states in Turkmenistan aimed at resolving the partition of the Caspian Sea's oil wealth ended in failure. The Caspian Sea is thought to hold the world's third biggest oil and gas reserves after Russia and the Gulf but exploration is being held up by the dispute over boundaries. Iran, with backing from Turkmenistan, wants the sea to be split five ways, with each country apportioned 20 percent of the Caspian. However, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia favour splitting the sea according to the length of the nations' shorelines, which would leave the Islamic republic with the smallest share, about 13 percent. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will be participating in the exercises, with Baku sending two ships including a minesweeper and Astana four Su-27 fighter planes, according to Russian defence military sources cited by Interfax. Representatives from Iran and Turkmenistan have been invited as observers. The state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Iran had asked to take part in the exercises but Russia had refused, citing a 1924 treaty between Tehran and the USSR barring all ships other than Soviet from the Caspian. Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko denied that the military exercises were aimed at any another country and insisted that Moscow's aim was to safeguard regional stability. "This is not a threat to foreign states," Yakovenko told RIA Novosti, adding that Russia's military presence in the Caspian was "an important factor in maintaining regional security and stability." The official pointed to the need to protect the strategic and economically important zone against the global terrorist threat. The highlight of the war games, which are taking place in the northern sector of the Caspian as well as on land in Astrakhan and Dagestan, will be a blockade of some remote isles to flush out suspected terrorists and arms and drugs smugglers. The exercises will also simulate an operation to free an oil platform seized by terrorists, foil an explosion on a railroad bridge over the Volga as well as clean up after an oil spill. © Hindustan Times Ltd. 2002. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without prior permission To send your feedback via web click here or email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
